Internode



Manual of Jewish Renewal Practices

By

Dorothea Tropp-Boas and Fred Tropp-Asher

CONDITIONS OF COPYRIGHT:

Copyright Fred Tropp-Asher and Dorothea Tropp-Boas 2013. This manual may be reproduced and distributed in whole or part without charge, provided there is attribution to the Authors and no charge to readers of the materials. It may be altered in any manner but if the alterations are substantial, it shall not be attributed to the Authors. The manual shall not be incorporated in any work that is for sale unless it is substantially altered. The opinion of the Authors or the surviving Author on what constitutes a substantial alteration, shall be final.

v. 2 4/8/13

CONTENTS

1 Thanks 3

2 How to use this manual 3

3 Introduction 3

4 Associated Documents 4

5 A note about Guided Meditation 5

6 A note about God and spirituality 5

7 Services 6

7.1 How to run a good Shabbat Service 6

7.2 World Spirituality Service 26/11/11 Caulfield, Melbourne 8

7.3 Unification and IntegrationError! Bookmark not defined. Service LBC 26/7/08 18

7.4 Alternative Renewal Service July 2009 26

7.5 Kabbalistic Service 28 August 2010 29

7.6 A Wanted Service 24 April August 2010 30

7.7 Spiritual Consciousness Service November 2009 35

7.8 Women’s Issues Service July 2005 37

7.9 Resource Material for spiritual use in the Home 53

8 Meditations 54

8.1 Environmentalism 54

8.2 Deity 56

8.3 I am not my body 57

8.4 Suffering 57

8.5 One Taste 58

8.6 Waking 58

8.7 The Abulafia meditation 59

8.8 On Tallit 60

8.9 Guided Meditation on Spirituality 61

8.10 Elohim and Ayn Sof 63

8.11 Death and Dying 65

9 Discussion Topics 67

9.1 Transition between types of Meditations 67

9.2 The value of meditation 68

10 Discourses 69

10.1 Types of meditation 69

10.2 Summary of Wilber article on Death, Rebirth and Meditation 71

11 Instructions on how to add to this manual 73

12 Contact the Authors 73

13 INDEX 73

Thanks

We wish to sincerely thank our mentors and teachers (in alphabetic order on last name):

Rabbi Aviva Bass, Rabbi David A Cooper, Rabbi Shefa Gold, Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black, Fred Koch, Debbie Masel, , Rabbi Fred Morgan, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Rachel Ward.

We also wish to deeply thank the co-facilitators of Melbourne Jewish Renewal (in alphabetic order on last name):

Bernard Boas, Art Feinman, Eva Light, Gish New, Gabbi Sar-Shalom, Helen Wolfram.

Our thanks also go to those who provided comments on the early versions of this manual:

Gabbi Sar-Shalom.

How to use this manual

You may download this manual from the Internet and use it without charge. See the Conditions of Copyright at the start of the Manual.

Items are categorised under the following types, as shown in the index:

• Services

• Meditations

• Prayers

• Discussion Topics

• Discourses

Each item has one or more themes associated with it, such as the following. These are indexed in the Index.

• Love

• Nature

• Relationships

• Water

• ...etc

Introduction

This manual contains many of the services, meditations, discussions and relevant documents presented by Jewish Renewal Facilitators Dorothea Tropp-Boas and Fred Tropp-Asher to the Melbourne Jewish Renewal Group over about 12 years since 2000. The items were presented variously at the Leo Baeck Centre, Temple Beth Israel and in private homes.

Some of the meditations were presented at Fred Tropp-Asher’s Universal Spirituality group. They are included as they could be useful for Jewish Meditation with or without modification by you.

The purpose of this manual is to provide Jewish Renewal Facilitators with a Resource Book they can use as they wish, to present from directly, or modify in any way, or just to get ideas.

The documents shown here may not have been presented as written. It is important to modify materials as you are presenting them to fit better with the requirements of the present moment and to include enhancements that occur to you as you are presenting them.

We wish all facilitators well with their presentations.

The manual may also be used for private meditation. For example, you could record one of the guided meditations, and play it back to yourself when you were meditating.

Many of the activities in this manual are based on or contain extracts from the work of others. The original source has been lost so cannot be attributed. We apologize in advance if anyone feels their copyright has been infringed and ask them to contact us about this. We would point out that this endeavour does not involve any financial renumeration or payment of costs to the authors. If you want to find the source on the Internet, it is often sufficient to type in a line from the work, enclosed in double quotes, into a Google search.

We have not attempted to delineate which of these materials come from Jewish sources, partly for the reasons in the previous paragraph and partly because we believe a function of Jewish Renewal is to be open to spiritual practices and ideas from all sources. Judaism and Jewish Renewal is a growing, changing and inclusive approach and we leave it up to facilitators to select what is relevant to them at a particular time and/or to change it as they see fit.

Some of these activities assume a knowledge of Kabbalah, Ken Wilber’s writings, Martin Buber’s writings, in that the activities do not give an explanation of these things. You will need to do your own research if you think your audience needs more information about them.

We should point out that some of these activities would be preferred and presented by one of the authors and some would be preferred and presented by the other.

Associated Documents

This Manual should be read in conjunction with the following documents, that are also available on the Jewish Renewal (Melbourne) website. The URL of that website at the time of writing is as follows, although it may be relocated at some future time and would have to be found via a Google search.



The other relevant documents available on that website are:

1. Manual of Guidelines for Guided Meditations – see



2. Handbook for Facilitators – see



3.Healing service (conducted at LBC September 2004)



A note about Guided Meditation

A core spiritual practice in Jewish Renewal is Guided Meditation. (See above document: Manual of Guidelines for Guided Meditations).

Guided Meditation should be viewed in the context that one of the main purposes of teaching meditation is so the practitioner can learn to meditate by themselves, at any time and in any place without the aid of any external resource (person, recording etc.) Meditation is a very useful skill for living a fulfilling life through its capacity to provide a “cleansed” view of the “doors of perception” and for strengthening your inner Self. To this end, you need to be able to carry out meditation totally by yourself.

Our Jewish Renewal Group has not had the facilities (or even the interest from participants) to run a meditation course over several months, with weekly gatherings, in order to teach people how to meditate by themselves. Luckily there are various community organisations in Melbourne which take this role. Some have their basis in Buddhism or Hinduism (eg Goenka Vipassana, E-Vam Institute, SIBA, Siddha Yoga, Transcendental Meditation); some are secular (eg. at the CAE or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction); and some are Jewish but not Renewal (eg. SpiritGrow). In order to establish a foundation for ongoing meditation practice we recommend you attend one of these courses.

Guided meditation is a limited form of meditation and only part of the meditation step towards a spiritual life.

What is meditation? There are various definitions, such as:

- Quietening the mind and body, so as to access your inner peace

- Quietening the mind and body, so as to become aware of oneness, non-duality, non-judgmentalness; to merge with the One and the All

- Quietening the mind and body so as to become refreshed and relaxed

What are the explanations for how meditation works?

- Some say that we all have a core of inner peace; it just needs to be accessed

- Some say there is a “relaxation reflex” that can be triggered by meditative practices

- Some say meditation is like sensory deprivation: in the absence of external stimulation the mind will create internal stimulation; this can be directed by appropriate setting and intention so that the internal focus becomes one of peace, calm and expansiveness

A note about God and spirituality

Our Melbourne groups have tried to have space for both theists and non-theists. A notion of God is not a requirement for meditation. What you discover in meditation is your own spiritual path and you may move closer to or further from a notion of God during your development, even to an atheistic position. Out of respect for believers in God we have used the name with a capital letter. The question of whether you can be a Jew or part of Jewish Renewal without having a notion of God is, in our opinion, one worthy of debate, and does not have a foregone conclusion.

The notion of God can take many forms. We hope that readers have developed beyond the idea of an all-powerful being that makes judgments and creates and controls the universe. You will probably have several conceptions of God over your life and may move closer or further from them at different times. In our opinion, this does not matter, so long as you are seeking spiritual understanding and experience.

Spiritual understanding and experience can come from many sources: from nature, music, dance, poetry, chanting, meditation, bushwalking, exercising, discussion, textual analysis, love, sexuality, taking risks, intimacy, art and many more activities. We encourage you to find and development your spirituality through all these means and by attending a variety of courses and activities in those areas.

What is spirituality?

To us, spirituality is an emotional feeling. It is usually associated with the experience of awe and wonder. It may be combined with a feeling of deep peace and an inexpressible sense of understanding or being at home in the world or part of it.

What are alternative names for God?

Instead of the word God, you may choose to use: The One, The Eternal, The Infinite, the Core, Nature, Higher Self, Higher Purpose, or similar phrases.

What is God?

Of course this is an unanswerable question. But here are various answers: God is a name given to one of the sources of our spirituality. God is Space/Time. God is Being. God is the unity of all things. God is what makes us human (i.e. humane).

Services

1 How to run a good Shabbat Service

The main thing that worked well for us was to have a theme for a Service, and select prayers and activities that related to that theme.

Some of the themes we used were:

KABBALAH

TIME/TIMELESSNESS

SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS

HEALING

NATURE

WATER

AN "ALTERNATIVE" SERVICE THAT FOCUSSED ON:

•         “reading” rocks

•         journeying into your subconscious

•         “formless” meditation

•         healing energy

•         spirituality in nature

•         what is god?

 

We used the Rabbi Cooper Chants CD a lot, and several others.

We used the Four Worlds approach to the service at times (see the Jewish Renewal Siddur by Rabbi Marcia Prager).

We always added extra texts from various sources.

Each service was different.

We try not to time things, just let them flow. We had to overcome the desire, in the beginning, to time every part of the service down to the last minute. Later we had the luxury of finishing services when we wanted to, at the point we arrived at. This was very liberating for us and the group.

We try to make services multi-media and multi-modal. We include talking, singing, praying, dancing, meditating, reading, structured movement, free movement, silence, drawing, making/creating. We use recorded music and voice, live music, percussion, chanting, projected images, photographs, handdrawn images, coloured cloths, aromatherapy, lighting and extended soundings of words.

We incorporate ideas from shamanism, paganism, Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Universalism and American Indian and Australian Aboriginal and other indigenous spiruality.

A theme is “no boundaries” – there are no or few limits to what we will do or incorporate or combine or the sources we will call on.

We allow (relevant) interruptions at any time and encourage people to nominate activities to be carried out right now.

We keep the numbers small (and manageable) eg. 6 to 16.

We only have 3 or 4 things that we considered necessary to include in the service. We may not include them directly via a Hebrew reading, but may use a direct or interpretative translation, or a related activity.

- Morning blessings

- Acknowledgement of Torah

- Amidah

- Kaddish

We do group call ups or no call ups (i.e. everyone is “called up” but remains at their seat.)

We avoid long pieces of Hebrew.

We try to avoid being “read to” in English or Hebrew, i.e. we seek participation and get everyone to read a few sentences or paragraph of a longer piece. (This doesn’t always work and sometimes having the facilitator read the whole of a work results in a more expressive experience).

 We include periods for discussion by attendees between themselves in groups of 2 or 3, and with the whole group.

If anyone has a good idea relevant to the moment, they are invited to explain it and explore it in the moment, eg. some related story, expressing the need to dance etc.

Note: in the original versions of the service below, particular sessions were allocated to different co-facilitators or participants by name. These names have been removed from this document, so you should substitute your own, if using these documents.

2 World Spirituality Service 26/11/11 Caulfield, Melbourne

Directions to facilitator

• announce and explain each section.

• may be best to read the parts yourself, rather than share them around. Then they can have the right emphasis and people can just relax and listen.

• Ask people to close eyes if they wish during the readings

• There is an option to set up a central “sacred space” containing sacred objects.

Things required:

- CD Player, CD of R. Cooper Chants, Book by Deborah Masel “Soul to Sou”l or equivalent, track by Bob Dylan, sitar music, Tibetan bowls (or similar CD)

1. Welcome all, all say names

2. Introduction- WHY WORLD SPIRITUALITY



• For some people, the classical religions have lost their power.

• For some, their intuitive desire is to transcend and include the traditions. They seek to live as dual citizens, rooted in their tradition and citizens in the broader community of World Spirituality.

• A World Spirituality based on the shared truths held to be self-evident by all great systems of spirit and gnosis across historical time is urgently needed at this moment in history.

• we belief that evolving an authentic life rooted in commitment and freedom articulated and lived in the principles and practices of World Spirituality is the next great step in spirit’s unfolding.

3. Announce: creating the sacred space

1. discuss what is sacred space, how create it

2. Hebrew chant

1. Read English: How good are your tents oh Jacob, your dwelling places oh Israel.

2. All sing, whilst playing Cooper chant Track 2 MA TOVU O-HA-LECHA YA-AKOV, MISH-KA-NO-TECHA, YIS-RA-EL

3. Listen to Tibetan Bowls or play CD Your body is your Temple, track 1 (part of)

4. Wiccan prayer

The day is upon us

The sky is clear

We call upon the Goddess

and She is near

Children of the Goddess gather

Weaving webs of magick

Dancing circles through time

Chanting to the quarters

Re-membering an earlier time.

The year moves in a sacred wheel

As the Goddess teaches us to heal

We heal ourselves and each other

We heal the Earth.

Our spirits know the way

To celebrate each day

Re-birthing a saner time.

Abby Willowroot © 1999

4. Announce: next are the Morning Blessings – meaning awakening to the wonder of life

1. read translation of chant in English : The life and soul which you placed within me are pure

2. all chant to Cooper CD TRACK 5 or Hoffman track 6: ELO-HAI NE-SHA-MA SHE-NA-TA BI, TEHORA HE

3. Wiccan prayer:



Bless this day

keep me safe and whole

kind and compassionate

Bless my path today

Help me to act with wisdom

and live in perpetual gratitude

Bless my human family

who are everywhere & everyone

Bless the creatures and plants

May all life be blessed on this day

Abby Willowroot 2008

4. Morning Raga – play CD TRACK 1 (part of it)

5. Announce: CALLING US TO COMMUNITY

1. Explain Barchu means blessed; Shekina is the name for the feminine spirit of God.

2. Hoffman CD Track 9: All chant: Barchu , Dear One, Shekhina, holy name, when I call on the light of my soul I come home.

3. Another community is the Buddhist Sangha (pron. sung –ga)

The idea behind taking refuge is that when it starts to rain, we like to find a shelter. The Buddhist shelter from the rain of problems and pain of life is threefold:

Buddha: meaning the historical Buddha or the Buddha nature—the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings;

Dharma: the teachings of the Buddha.

Sangha: the community of practicing Buddhists

Taking refuge means that we have some understanding about suffering, and we have confidence that the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (the "Three Jewels") can help us.

Buddhists start prayers by invoking the Sangha -- calling upon the power of the collective spirit of the Buddhist community, both those present and those not physically present.

Refuge Prayer

At the foot of the Bodhi tree,

beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,

the living source of understanding and compassion,

to the Buddha I go for refuge.

The path of mindful living,

leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment,

the way of peace,

to the Dharma I go for refuge.

The loving and supportive community of practice,

realizing harmony, awareness, and liberation,

to the Sangha I go for refuge.

4. Announce: Prayers for the ONENESS OF GOD AND THE MARRIAGE WITH GOD

5. The two main Jewish prayers are the Shema and Amidah. What is their purpose?



Davening (or praying) is about entering into a relationship with God. The three

paragraphs of the Shmah are from the Torah – that is – from the speech of God. So in

the Shmah, God speaks to us.

In the Amidah, we speak to God.

This is the aim: to enter into a marriage-like relationship with God. And in the Shmah

God also lays out what we need to do: we have to construct ourselves from pure love. That is, love without reward or punishment.

In the Amidah we respond to God. In the first two blessings, we talk

existentially about what God means to us. We tell God that He or She is our shield,

the object of our love, the source of our life, the cause of our death, and the hope of

our redemption, among many other things.

And then we state our aspiration of being the kind of people who could enter into a

the relationship that we’re after with God.

When we will these things, and thus align our wills with the Divine Will, we are capable of drawing close

to God.

6. Pg. 24. 1st line of Shema. –as a chant: COOPER CD TRACK 11

Read English first – a Jewish Renewal Interpretation: Comprehend with a total comprehension, all of you who Wrestle with God, the Breath of Life of all Being is our Power; is the Eternal Infinite Oneness.

SH’MA YIS-RA-EL, A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU, A-DO-NAI EH-KHAD

7. Wiccan tradition on oneness of God –

I release my isolation to the Stars

Breathing in the Energy that connects all things

Allowing my body to be caressed by Nature

Filling my lungs with eternal Breath

Filling my senses with the joy of Being Alive

Filling my heart with gratitude for this Moment

Finally allowing my Spirit to soar Free

I am a creation of the Universe

Eternal in my Essence

In time . . . when my life wanes

Returning my body to Star Dust

Held in the body of the Great Goddess

I will again be the Energy of Life

Abby Willowroot © 2000

8. Sufi tradition on oneness

Sufi interpretation : There is nothing but Existence (i.e. all the dimensions of life, physical and spiritual).

Muslim translation: No one has the right to be worshipped except Allah (God)

lah, ellaha, ellal lah (Group to chant this)

6. Announce: – next are THE BOOKS OF LEARNING

1. brief English summary of Torah portion used today:

Today’s parasha is about Isaac, son of Abraham, who married Rebecca. She had twins who clashed inside her. God told her that two nations are in your womb; the greater will serve the younger. Esau was born first: red and hairy and became a trapper and farmer; the other was Jacob, a scholar. Isaac favoured Esau and Rebecca Jacob. Esau needed food but Jacob would only give it if Esau sold him his birthright. Esau agreed.

2. reading in Hebrew of the Torah – people remain in their seats; there is no need for the blessings

3. Rabbi Shefa Gold’s explanation of this parashah (D’vah):

TORAH IS A SPIRALLING MIRRORED PATHWAY THAT IS OPENED TO US WEEK BY WEEK.

When we read Torah each week we search for the blessing in it. We receive a spiritual challenge and rise to meet that challenge, and are guided by our practice. Spiritual practice begins with a loving discernment of "Here" and "Now." we locate ourselves in space and time, starting with the vastness of space and focussing down to the still point within, the place made sacred by my awareness.

Breathing out from this point, the very centre of the universe, we locate ourselves in Time. We see our life-path that has brought use to where Here and Now intersect

WE CARRY within us the Great Duality, the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. Like Rebecca, we are pregnant with dilemma, with paradox.

TO BE FULLY HUMAN is to be connected to our lineage, to experience the presence of our ancestors within us.

Through the story of Toldot we learn to access our lineage. In his time, Abraham accomplished the great work of digging deep wells of spiritual sustenance, but by Isaac's time, the wells had become obstructed. Isaac lost access to the wealth of his lineage. In re-digging the stopped up wells of his father Abraham, Isaac finds that the process is neither simple nor easy. In fact he digs three wells before achieving success - connection with the source.

IN THE STORY of Toldot we learn of the tragedy of deception between brothers that results from the narrow belief in the scarcity of blessing. Our family is torn apart because of the conviction that only one of Isaac's sons can receive his blessing.

Our fates are bound up with one another. Your loss, your suffering is also mine, and true blessing is shared. At the well of spaciousness I slake my thirst with the knowledge that the source of blessing knows no bounds, and that we are capable of accessing that blessing directly.

4. About the Bhagavad Gita (pron: Bug-ga-vad Gita)

It is interesting that the next text also refers to battles between brothers:



The Bhagavad-Gita, which is revered by Hindus, is part of the much larger epic poem called Mahabharata. (ma-ha-bar-ata)

This epic poem, one of the most important texts of Indian literature and philosophy, relates a feud over succession in the ancient kingdom; the rival’s factions are two families of royal cousins, who are descended from the king through the two brothers

In the Bhagavad-Gita the two rival factions have met on the battle field; Arjuna falls into a state of despair at the prospect of killing his own kinsmen.

The stage is set for the philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. (Krishna is more than he appears.)

Two fundamental questions are raised and answered in the Bhagavad-Gita. First, what is the nature of the Self? The question of the Self is also the question of the nature of the Absolute.

Second, how does one attain to release from the cycle of birth and death? This is the question of the methodology to be employed to reach the philosophical or religious goal.

In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna reveals himself in his true nature of all-encompassing reality, but, because Krishna incarnates himself either as a god or as a man, a human being can relate to him as a person. In fact, Krishna recommends devotion to him as a means of release. Second, the preferred path to perfection is that of action detached from concern about the results of action; the path of renunciation of action is not as recommended,.

5. about the Koran



I have taken a section from the Quran about brothers....

From the Quran, chpt 49.10. The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers; and keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety (particularly in your duties toward one another as brothers), so that you may be shown mercy and granted a good, virtuous life in the world as individuals and as a community, and eternal happiness in the Hereafter.

===

These verses mean that all the believers are brothers and sisters, who are dutiful to one another in this relationship. It hints that there may be quarrels, even fighting, among brothers, which may sometimes arise from rivalry and jealousy. Even if they quarrel and fight with one another, they are still brothers and sisters, and brotherhood and sisterhood require peace. If, despite the fact that there cannot be enmity among them, two parties of believers dispute or fight with each other, the other believers, who are brothers and sisters to them, must reconcile them immediately and make peace between them as required by such a relationship. When they are reconciled and have made peace, they must be meticulous in acting according to the precepts of justice. Since quarrels among brothers and sisters usually break out because of rivalry and jealousy, dispensing justice with great care is particularly important.

Brotherhood (and sisterhood) is very important for both the individual and social life of the believers. In particular, their prosperity in the world and superiority against their enemies depend on faith and this relationship. If they clash with one another and divide into rival groups, it is inevitable that they will weaken and be defeated by their enemies.

For this reason, both the Qur'ān and God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, have greatly stressed the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood.

I want to say a little about believers, in Islam.



Believers in Islam are those who freely respond to the call of the Prophet and accept him as the Messenger of the one true God.

But revelation is not considered as channelled exclusively through one person or one nation. Rather messengers of God have arisen among every nation (16:36). And all these messengers essentially taught the same message (42:13), although in details of outward rites and regulations for organizing community life they differed (22:67, 4:48). Since revelation played a part in the formation of many, if not all the existing traditions, salvation is achievable through them if a person commits wholeheartedly to the one true God and as a consequence leads a life of goodness (2:112).

Although those Christians who worship Jesus as God will not enter paradise unless they turn to the forgiving and merciful God in repentance (2:72-74), but the Qur`anic judgment will be exactly the same if some Muslims deified Muhammad and started to worship him.

So other religions are viewed by Islam as a mixture of divine light brought by the true messengers of God and errors introduced by some of their followers

7. Announce: next are PRAYERS FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE

Poem by Judy Chicago (Can be sung, in underlined parts. See CD by R. Bass track 40)

And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded to power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another's will

And then all will be so varied rich and free

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young

And then all will cherish life's creatures

And then all will live in harmony with one another and the Earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

1. Another tradition (Christian):

Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,

for they shall be known as

the Children of God.

But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you

pray for those who abuse you.

To those that strike you on the cheek,

offer the other one also,

and from those who take away your cloak,

do not withhold your coat as well.

Give to everyone who begs from you,

and of those who take away your goods,

do not ask for them again.

And as you wish that others would do to you,

do so to them.

2. Another tradition: Hindu



(Shanti means peace in Sanskrit)

Oh God, lead us from the

unreal to the Real.

Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.

Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.

Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions.

May there be peace on Earth.

May the waters be appeasing.

May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and

plants bring peace to all.

May all beneficent

beings bring peace to us.

May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all

through the world.

May all things be a source of peace to us.

And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all

and may that peace come to me also.

8. Announce: We now come to REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD, and ASSISTING THOSE RECENTLY DECEASED WITH THEIR PASSING

1. from Kahlil Gibran – Sufi poet

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it

unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day

cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death,

open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one,

even as the river and the sea are one.

...

.

And what is it to cease breathing,

but to free the breath from its restless tides,

that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence

shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top,

then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs,

then shall you truly dance.

- The Prophet - - Kahlil Gibran -

2. from Eugene Gold – American book of the dead (a follower of Gurdjieff pronounced "gur-jeef" ) –

Now I am experiencing

the Clear Light

of objective reality.

Nothing is happening,

nothing ever has happened

or ever will happen.

My present sense of self,

the voyager,

is in reality the void itself,

having no qualities or characteristics.

I remember myself as the voyager,

whose deepest nature

is the Clear Light itself;

I am one;

there is no other.

I am the voidness of the void,

the eternal unborn,

the uncreated,

neither real nor unreal.

All that I have been conscious of

is my own play of consciousness,

a dance of light,

the swirling patterns of light

in infinite extension,

endless endlessness,

the Absolute beyond change,

existence,

reality.

I, the voyager,

am inseparable

from the Clear Light;

I cannot be born,

die, exist, or change.

I know now

that this is

my true nature.

- Clear Light Prayer -- E.J. Gold: American Book of the Dead -

3. Read Deborah Masel from “Soul to Soul” pg. 110 last 2 para and pg. 111

4. Play Bob Dylan’s song

Bob Dylan - When The Deal Goes Down

In the still of the night, in the world´s ancient light

Where wisdom grows up in strife

My bewildering brain, toils in vain

Through the darkness on the pathways of life

Each invisible prayer is like a cloud in the air

Tomorrow keeps turning around

We live and we die, we know not why

But I´ll be with you when the deal goes down

We eat and we drink, we feel and we think

Far down the street we stray

I laugh and I cry and I´m haunted by

Things I never meant nor wished to say

The midnight rain follows the train

We all wear the same thorny crown

Soul to soul, our shadows roll

And I´ll be with you when the deal goes down

>

3 Unification and IntegrationError! Bookmark not defined. Service LBC 26/7/08

ORDER OF SERVICE

1. theme

2. chant el melech

3. read the parasha translation below

4. explain about masculine/feminine, Jung

5. discussion on unification, finding our own examples of it where we can express our opposite tendencies

6. blessings

7. chant/meditation on unification

8. Torah reading

9. Prayers for men and women

10. Prayers for climate

11. Kaddish poem

= = = = =

1. Our theme today is unification and integration

a. Of God, Melech and Shechina

b. Of the masculine and feminine principle

c. Of humanity and the environment

We must remember that the word halacha does not really mean "Jewish law." Derived from the verb "to walk", halacha means "the path." We are all walking the path of personal, social and community development together.

In kabbalistic belief, God's feminine and masculine selves have been rent apart; the goal of all of Jewish ritual is their reunification.

2.Trk 10: EL MELECH NE-EH-MAN, SHECHINA MALKA NE-EH-MA-NA

God of Mercy is faithful King; Shechina is faithful Queen (5:35)

3. we start with a translation of the Parasha, which is the setting for unification. It is a great example of patriarchy: the male can require the female to break her vows and the male warriors can destroy the enemies of the Hebrews.

Numbers Chapter 29:2 – 36:13

Plaut Torah Commentary pages 1215 -1250

Matot

Moses spoke to the tribal heads of the Israelites, telling them that this is the word that God had commanded

If a man makes a vow to God, or makes an oath to obligate himself, he must not break his word. He must do all that he expressed verbally.

This is the law: when a woman makes a vow to God or binds herself by an obligation while still a girl in her father's house - If her father remains silent when he hears her vow or self-imposed obligation, then all her vows and self-imposed obligations must be kept

However, if he obstructs her on the day he hears it, then any such vow or self-imposed obligation of hers shall not be fulfilled. Since her father has obstructed her, God will forgive her.

This is the law if she is betrothed to a man and is bound by her vows and self-imposed verbal obligations, If the men in her life hear about it and remain silent on the day they hear, then her vows and self-imposed obligations must be kept.

However, if the men in her life obstruct her on the day they hear about it, they can annul her vows and self-imposed verbal obligations, and God will forgive her

The vow of a widow or divorcee must be kept, no matter what obligation she takes upon herself

The Hebrews have finished their forty years of wandering in the

wilderness. Moses has died and the people are about to enter the

Promised Land, led by Joshua. They pause in the lovely country now

known as Trans-Jordan. They pause here to have quite a holiday.

They first killed off all the local males, of all ages, and then

killed off all those women who had had sexual experience. (Bern adds: Perhaps

there was some form of sexually-transmitted disease here). The

remaining women and girls, the virgins, they kept alive.

Then they all settled in what we now know as TransJordan.

They settled here first; The men of 2 and a half tribes were to go

with the advancing main force across the river to conquer the

Promised Land. They were to return to TransJordan when the conquering

was finished. Oddly enough, there is no reference in Torah of the

eventual return of the men who had set up their farms in

Transjordan. However, the wanderings are finished and probably the

men who wanted to settle on the East side of the Jordan will come

back, a few at a time.

4. Jung.

Carl Jung postulates that each individual has both masculine and feminine components of the psyche. Part and parcel of human biological and psychological development is this mixture of masculine and feminine energies.

These energies are theoretical constructs or concepts, which are useful for explanation but are not identical with gender. In Eastern cultures the Tao symbol with it’s Yin and Yang energies is expressive of the same idea. The Yang energy is masculine in nature and is described as light, dry, directed, focused, logical, and action oriented. Yin energy is feminine and described as dark, moist, diffuse, , intuitive, and receptive.

In the first half of life a differentiation of the primary sexual identity and corresponding energy takes place but in later life a call to integrate the opposite energy, arises. This is a move towards wholeness.

At the most basic and simplistic level what happens is that men begin to develop their capacity for relationship and must come to terms with emotions, vulnerability, and needs while women begin to become more decision and action oriented and in the process claim their independence, courage, power and wisdom. At midlife women are called to decide and do while men are called to nurture and be more receptive

At midlife, there arises a deep call for wholeness. It comes from the individuation process that is propelling growth. The "undeveloped" must be developed if we are to be fully functioning people. Without this urge towards wholeness we remain like a lopsided wheel trying to roll down hill. We are awkward and can get out of control.

At midlife the meaning and purpose of the first half of life begins to fail. The agenda changes. It is no longer focused on differentiation but integration. Ultimately, midlife is taking you to a new and deeper level of meaning. What meaning will work for you? What is a truly workable meaning for life? Spiritual and psychological traditions all agree. It is to become a generative person (a concept from Erickson).

Generativity as "the adult’s concern for and commitment to the next generation, as expressed through parenting, teaching, mentoring, leadership, and a host of other activities that aim to leave a positive legacy of the self for the future". Just as the genetic heritage of an individual is transmitted through DNA, so the cultural endowment—values, ideas, behaviors—are passed from one person to another within the society.

5. Discussion in pairs

Discussion on unification, finding our own examples of it where we can express our opposite tendencies, where we can be generative.

6. Acknowledgement of morning blessings

Two blessings from the first part of the morning liturgy, the matched set of asher yatzar ("Who formed the human body with wisdom...") and elohai neshama ("My God, the soul that you have placed within me...") One blessing for the body, one for the soul: a matched set. (As the classical saying goes, tefilah bli kavanah, zeh kmo guf bli neshamah: "prayer without mindful intention is like a body without a soul.")

the blessing for the body uses the word chalulim, "ducts" or "tubes" or "openings." (In context: "Who formed humans with wisdom and created a system of ducts and conduits within them.") A chalal is a flute, so this blessing evokes the ways in which our bodies are like flutes through which the ruach ha-kodesh ("holy spirit," more or less) flows.

on the blessing for the soul: in speaking about the purity of the soul God breathed into each of us, this blessing does something gorgeous with onomatopoeia. Its string of feminine-ending words, each with an aspirated heh at the end, obligates us to focus on our own breath in order to articulate our words about God's breath, and in so doing to be mindful of the ways in which both we and God breathe holiness into the world.

In addition to the obvious, and healthy, acknowledgment of the mystery of the physical body's organic processes, Jewish spiritual tradition also finds in this benediction the theme of our interaction with the outside world. In other words, it's more than merely organs that are open and closed; it's also a matter of what's inside and outside.

Much has been written recently about our "inner child," the primal root of our psyche from which our later selves emerge, our intrinsic nature, our uncorrupted essence. In Judaism, this inner child is called our n'shamah, usually translated as "soul" but literally meaning "breath." This n'shamah is the image of God within us, incorruptible, deriving its life force from the divine breath.

this blessing serves to remind us that deep down we are holy and fundamentally whole, a quiet counter to the deeply un-Jewish notion of original sin.

7. Chant & meditation on unification

This will be a chant on the shema

Trk 11: SH’MA YIS-RA-EL, A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU, A-DO-NAI EH-KHAD

Hear of Israel, Adonai our God Adonai is One. (3:48)

Meditate in silence.

8. TORAH READING

Misheberachs on unification/healing:

- that we may have the right balance of masculine and feminine qualities

- that humanity may life in unity with nature and not as its destroyer

- that we may perceive the Melech and Shekina aspects of God and find peace

9. Masculinity and femininity

The women say :

I am the receiver

the nourisher.

I am the helper

the compassionate.

I enfold, love and nurture.

The men say :

I am strength

and directness.

I am logos

and mind.

I plan and reach out.

The Women say:

I am strength

and directness.

I am logos

and mind.

I plan and reach out.

The Men say:

I am the receiver

the nourisher.

I am the helper

the compassionate.

I enfold, love and nurture.

==

Both say:

DEAR LORD:

SO FAR TODAY, I AM DOING ALL RIGHT. I HAVE NOT GOSSIPED, LOST MY TEMPER, BEEN GREEDY, GRUMPY, NASTY, SELFISH OR SELF-INDULGENT. I HAVE NOT WHINED,CURSED OR EATEN ANY CHOCOLATE.

HOWEVER, I AM GOING TO GET OUT OF BED IN A FEW MINUTES AND I WILL NEED A LOT MORE HELP AFTER THAT.

== = =

10. PRAYERS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF HUMANITY AND NATURE

All over the world the effects of environmental change have been felt: unseasonable and torrential rains, in unusual places; snow where there has been none for many years; arduous drought, and more.

Humanity suffers as a consequence: “It is believed that in this century 90 Amazonian tribes have disappeared.”

As true followers of Renewal Judaism, our concern should not be so much for the land, as if it were a goddess enraged because it is being exploited, as for humanity itself. Our ecological concern is an ethical concern, of justice and solidarity with those who suffer the consequences of these disasters.

The environmental changes are provoked by a lack of care in our relationships with Nature, which we offend relentlessly with our projects, with our residues, with our selfishness and drive for profits. We should use Naure with respect and care

because we have been ordered “to care for it.”

We need to change anti-ecological habits, because if we do not respect Nature in all its forms, we will be offending one another.

Leader: may the Creator and Lord of the Earth and of Life itself be with all of you.

All: Come, God of the SOUTH, God of the Earth. We invoke you and call you.

You bring us the stars, stones, high mountains and fields of grain.

Send forth your strength. Be here now!

Come, God of the EAST. We invoke you and call you,

Whirlwind, God of the birds that fly, God of the rising sun, of all there is to know.

Send forth your light. Be here now!

Come, God of the NORTH, God of fire. We invoke you and call you.

You bring us the warmth of summer.

Send us your fire. Be here with us now!

Come, God of the WEST, God of water. We invoke you and call you.

You bring us feelings of care and love. You bring us the cleansing rain, the rivers and the sea.

Send forth your soothing love. Be here with us now!

Come, God of the center, Spirit of our hearts and our lives. We invoke you and call you.

You bring us power, creativity and adventure. You bring us laughter and tears.

You are our hope. It is you we long for.

Send forth your Spirit. Be here now!

We want to rest. We need to rest and allow the earth to rest. We need to reflect and to rediscover the mystery that lives in us, that is the ground of every unique expression of life, the source of fascination that calls all things.

We declare a Sabbath, a space of quiet, for simply being and letting be, for recovering the great forgotten truths, for learning how to live again.

Reader 1: We live in all things. All things live in us. All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 2: We live by the sun. We move with the stars. All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 1: We eat from the earth. We drink from the rain. We breathe from the air. All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 2: We share with the creatures. We have strength through their gifts.

All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 1: We depend on the forests. We have knowledge through their secrets.

All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 2: We have the privilege of seeing and understanding. We have the responsibility of caring. We have the joy of celebrating.

All: We rejoice in all life.

Reader 1: We are full of the grace of creation. We are grace-ful. We are grateful. We rejoice in all life.

All: We rejoice in all life.

11. KADDISH POEM

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

4 Alternative Renewal Service July 2009

Today’s service is called an Alternative Spirituality Shabbat Service. The theme being to experientially investigate alternative spirituality in a Jewish context. This comes from our mission, which was developed in conjunction with Rabbi Fred Morgan, “To explore spirituality and mysticism in a modern Jewish context”.

We try to take each aspect of the service and give an alternative interpretation

BRING

- hi fi set

- Prager siddurs and CD

1. Create sacred space

1. niggun. COOPER TRACK 14. and dance

2. Morning Blessings

1. We will focus on blessing the body: pg. 2. Stand in circle, hands on back of person in front of you in comfortable place; close eyes, someone reads blessing the body.

3. PRAGER TRACK 12 WE ARE LOVED pg 22

1. close eyes; sing along as wish

4. PRAGER TRACK 13 AVAT OLAM = page 23

1. close eyes, sing along as wish

5. Shema

1. Pg. 24. 1 line of Shema. PRAGER TRACK 15 REPEAT 3X

6. A meditation on the Amidah

1. this meditation is on the world of atzilut (SEE APPENDIX 1).

2. Or discussion on what is god

7. pg 42: Elohai nitzor: Contemplation after Amidah PRAGER TRACK 20.

8. Torah

1. Dance with torah PRAGER TRACK 4 NIGGUN

2. undress torah.

3. tell story of the parashah; devar

4. first callup: for those who are prepared to challenge tradition

1. blessing pg 45

2. read torah

3. blessing pg 46

4. misheberach lavoteinu ...may the ONE who blessed all our ancestors bless all people and bless all of you who have come today for God, Torah and Shabbat and for being willing to xxx (above)

5. 2nd callup: for those who support the disempowered in obtaining their rights

6. 3rd callup: for those who can see beyond the personal to the need for social change

9. Aleynu PRAGER TRACK 21; PG. 49 and Veneemar pag. 50.

1. then read English on pg. 50 as it is written, .....

10. Sing pg. 50 And then PRAGER CHANT 22

11. Kaddish

1. ask for names of those who we want to remember

2. Pg. 51. Full Kaddish. All join in. PRAGER TRACK 23

3. read English pg. 51. slowly. someone.

12. Final prayers:

1. go round room, each says a prayer

13. final song. CIRCLE CHANT SING SHALOM TRACK 20.

APPENDIX 1. MEDITATION ON WORLD OF ATZILOT

close eyes

you will remember that there are 4 worlds in kabbalah: assiyah, the physical world; yetzirah, the emotional world; briyah the intellectual world; and atzilut, the spiritual world.

You will see a diagram at the start of the siddur showing how the service maps onto the 4 worlds. The amidah is the peak of the service, the spiritual world.

we are going on a meditative journey to atzilut

atzilut is the nothingness that lies beyond the limits of human consciousness

let your mind go beyond the limits of human consciousness

the vessels have broken

the divine emanations create the world of atzilut

the emanations which reveal the essence of what was previously concealed

atzilut is a world wholly conscious of its divine origin

a world in a state of perfect and eternal rectification.

rays from this world of atzilut

extend into the 3 created worlds of briyah, yetzirah and assiyah

the rays hide themselves amongst created reality

so that reality experiences itself as other than its source- this feeling that we know

thus that our divine service is needed on earth

to the redeem the falling sparks of divinity on earth

and bring earth to a full state of rectification

so it is like atzilut

and then god shall be present on all earth

and on that day god will be one and the name of god will be one.

5 Kabbalistic Service 28 August 2010

1. Intro: today is based on Rabbi David A. Cooper and his work on The Ecstatic Kabbalah. Our goal is to achieve spiritual ecstacy via meditation, song, movement, breath and torah.

2. Read from Cooper book as intro

3. -Do first iteration of Kabbalah Cooper meditation and give handout of the full set.

4. Do chant Hine(y) ma tov u’manayim Shevet akh-im gam ya-chad How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. From Psalm 133. SING SHALOM TRACK 11. KESSLER

5. Cooper Yahweh meditation Ecstatic kab cd t7 DOWN TO : if you can master this one practice (then stop and do it silently before next track)

6. Do dance eg. cover head with talit; join with another if need to. Chassidic dance cd: track 1, 12 and 13 and maybe 14.

7. BRIEF MEDITATION ON 4 realms: ASSIYAH physical realm; yetzirah: emotional realm: briyah: intellectual realm; atzilut: spiritual realm; do meditation; so that we incorporate the 4 worlds in every act especially involving other people, so that I approach you on each of the realms, eg. i hug you, i am warm to you, i tell you stimulating things; i see you as a divine being; discuss

8. Cooper ecstatic kabbalah track t9 on shema.

9. Torah

a. mischerberach: reminding us to thank all who have given us help

b. opening prayer

c. Read first section

d. paraphrase the translation Plaut 1508

e. Read second section

f. discussion on the work

g. Read 3rd section

h. closing prayer

10. Kaddish By Rabbi Daniel Brenner

So, my Aramaic dictionary in hand, I returned to the prayer and tried to translate it myself. Below is what I came up with. The translation that I am presenting here is an attempt to put the kaddish into plain English

A Kaddish

Make the God-name big.

Big and holy.

Do it in this world,

This creation sprung from consciousness,

And bring some order to this.

Do it fast, soon, in our lives, in the days ahead, in the life of the people we call home.

Everybody join with me: May the name be blessed forever and ever!

Yes, blessed.

Blessed, whispered, sung out, shouted, honored, this holy name.

The name is beyond any song, poem, or comforting words we could ever speak.

Eveybody say: That's the truth!

May a big peace descend from the heavens, a life-giving peace for all of us, for our beloved people,

Let everybody say: May it be true!

Make that peace in the heavens, great peacemaker, great One who brings wholeness to our people.

Stop.

Everybody pray:

May it be true.

11. End: Sing Shalom: circle chant no. 20. Hirschhorn

6 A Wanted Service 24 April August 2010

1) PREPARATION OF ROOM

• Create sacred space: take blower, oils, hifi, music, percussion, flowers, pictures, paintings of nature.

• set up 3 chairs in each corner of room. Record player on table in centre. Torah reading area at end. On table is 4 large pages of paper (numbered group 1 to 4); textas; pastels; scarves

• camera

2) INTRODUCTION

• discuss objective of service: to have a service which everyone feels is what they want.

• For me that means: meditation, music, asking questions, getting answers, movement, poetry, connect to others; sacred space

• explain about working in groups of 3.

3) CREATE THE SPACE

• PRAGER PG. 1: SOMEONE TO READ: And I, with your great love...and with saving truth.

• PRAGER PG. 8: SING SHALOM CD: TRACK 4., TEACH US TO TREASURE EACH DAY

4) BLESSING

• Websters definition: words used to bless:

• bless: to consecreate or hallow by religious rite or word; make or pronounce holy; to invoke divine care for; to praise or glorify;

• in our groups of 3, write a blessing of body, soul or mind.

• say your blessing to the group

• maybe write it on your sheet

5) MEDITATION

• mantra Adonai Hu Ha-elohim - Adonai is God.

• said by Israelites at Mt Carmel to show their rejection of idols (Baal)

• used on Yom Kippur.

6) SHEMA VISUALISATION

• recite first line very slowly

• THEN SOMEONE READS PRAGER PG 27, ANOTHER PG. 28, LISTEN WITH EYES CLOSED.

• PAUSE, MEDITATE, ANY COMMENTS?

• then shema meditation

□ focus awareness on the solar plexus (just below the navel) and say – Shema Yisrael

□ focus awareness on the heart, and say Yah Eloheynoo.

□ We focus on the throat and say Yah

□ focus on the third eye and say Echad (one). This is always extended to last as long as all the previous parts of the Shema.

□ repeat.

7) SHABBOS SONG AND DANCE

• CD SCIENTIST AT WORK, TRACK 5: play shabbos song, get all to move to it.

8) SPIRITUAL QUESTIONS

• in our group of 3s, each asks a spiritually oriented question that is on their mind.

• choose which one you want answered. The asker listens to the other 2 discussing it.

• report main findings to the main group

• write the main findings on your groups pages

9) AMIDAH

• SOMEONE READ PRAGE PG 30: The Shabbat admidah...creations purpose fulfilled.

• SOMEONE TO READ

□ Source of Love,

Help us to live with such ease

That our fears melt away like dew

And our rigidities roll off like surf on the beach

Then, we cannot but know that we are loved

And we cannot but give and take affection, freely -

As if it were most natural

Take us into your arms,

O Source of Blessing,

That we may be one with You

Hallelu-Yah

(Rabbi Robert Gluck, from Siddur Kol Kore, Aleph Publications)

• now silent meditation of your heart.

10) THE PARASHA

• READ: Plaut on torah: whilst god is not the author of the Torah, the Torah is a book about humanity’s understanding of and experience with god. This understanding has varied over the centuries. Since the torah tradition was at first repeated by word of mouth, the final text testifies to divergent ideas about god. The Torah is a peoples search for and meeting with god. It therefore has something to say about the essentials of human existence. The book is held up like a prism and a vast spectrum of insights is discovered through it. Torah has relevance for our time. The relevance of stores is often in questions rather than answers. One of the attractions of the torah is its open endedness: it raises issues without answering them. The torah contains a great variety of material: laws, narratives, history, folk tales, songs, proverbs, poetry, myths and legends.

• FRED: introduce it as from Leviticus: Archarey Mot, below appendix 1. Refer Plaut 863. Most of the laws of Leviticus are about directions for sacrifice, and ritual defilement and purification and ceased to function when the temple was destroyed in 70 CE, even for strictly orthodox jews. The parashah outlines the ritual to be followed whenever the high priest chooses to enter the inner shrine. This is an annual event (now known as yom kippur).

• SOMEONE TO READ: PLAUT P 863 VS 4-12 Read English

• Facilitators give drash: About acknowledging god in the right way

• all say blessing PRAGER PG.. 45

• Facilitator reads torah

• all say blessing PRAGER PG. 46

11) SHALOM

• HOFFMAN TRACK 15, THEN MEDITATE

12) KADDISH

• SOMEONE TO READ (FRED?) Alan Ginsbergs poem – see appendix 2

13) FINAL SONG

• Pete Seger, One blue sky above us: SING SHALOM TRACK 16. SEE APPENDIX 3

14) AT THE END

• photograph the table so can read it; send to all.

APPENDIX 1: ACHAREY MOT

16:1 First Reading First Reading

God spoke to Moses right after the death of Aaron's two sons, who brought an [unauthorized] offering before God and died.

16:2 God said to Moses:

Speak to your brother Aaron, and let him not enter the [inner] sanctuary that is beyond the partition concealing the Ark, so that he may not die, since I appear over the Ark cover in a cloud.

16:3 When Aaron enters [this inner] sanctuary, it must be with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

16:4 He must put on a sanctified white linen tunic, and have linen pants on his body. He must [also] gird himself with a linen sash, and bind his [head] with a linen turban. These are sacred vestments, and [therefore], before putting them on, he must immerse in a mikvah.

6:5 From the Israelite community, he shall [also] take two goats for sin offerings, and one ram for a burnt offering.

16:6 He shall [begin by] presenting his own sin offering bull and atoning for himself and his family

16:7 He shall then take the two goats, and stand them before God at the Communion Tent entrance.

16:8 Aaron shall place two lots on the two goats one lot [marked] 'for God,' and one [marked] 'for Azazel.'

16:9 Aaron shall present the goat that has the lot for God so that it will [later] be prepared as a sin offering.

16:10 The goat that has the lot for Azazel shall remain alive before God, so that [Aaron] will [later] be able to make atonement on it and send it to Azazel in the desert.

16:11 Aaron shall present his sin offering bull, and make atonement for himself and his fellow [priests]. He shall then slaughter his bull as a sin offering.

16:12 He shall take a fire pan full of burning coals from [the side of] the altar that is toward God, along with a double handful of finely pulverized perfume incense, and bring [them both] into the [inner sanctuary] beyond the cloth partition.

16:13 There, before God, he shall place the incense on the fire, so that the smoke from the incense covers the ark cover over the [tablets of] testimony. Then he will not die.

APPENDIX 2: KADDISH

Kaddish, Part I

Kaddish is a poem by Beat writer Allen Ginsberg about the death of his mother, Naomi, in 1956. It was begun in the Beat Hotel in Paris in December 1957 and completed in New York in 1959. The poem was published as the lead in the collection Kaddish and Other Poems 1958-1960 [1]. It is often considered one of Ginsberg's finest poems; some scholars hold that it is his best.[citation needed]

The title Kaddish refers to the mourner's prayer or blessing in Judaism. This long poem was Ginsberg's attempt to mourn his mother, Naomi, but also reflects his sense of loss at his estrangement from his born religion. The traditional Kaddish contains no references to death, whereas Ginsberg's poem is riddled with thoughts and questionings of death.

ABBREVIATED VERSION, APOLOGIES

Strange now to think of you, gone without corsets & eyes, while I walk on

the sunny pavement of Greenwich Village.

downtown Manhattan, clear winter noon, and I've been up all night, talking,

talking, reading the Kaddish aloud, listening to Ray Charles blues

shout blind on the phonograph

the rhythm the rhythm--and your memory in my head three years after--

And read Adonais' last triumphant stanzas aloud--wept, realizing

how we suffer--

And how Death is that remedy all singers dream of, sing, remember,

prophesy as in the Hebrew Anthem, or the Buddhist Book of Answers—

Dreaming back thru life, Your time--and mine accelerating toward Apocalypse,

the final moment--the flower burning in the Day--and what comes after,

--Tho you're not old now, that's left here with me--

Myself, anyhow, maybe as old as the universe--and I guess that dies with

us--enough to cancel all that comes--What came is gone forever

every time--

That's good! That leaves it open for no regret--no fear radiators, lacklove,

torture even toothache in the end--

Ai! ai! we do worse! We are in a fix!And you're out, Death let you out,

Death had the Mercy, you're done with your century, done with

God, done with the path thru it--Done with yourself at last--Pure

--Back to the Babe dark before your Father, before us all--before the

world--

There, rest.No more suffering for you.I know where you've gone, it's good.

No more flowers in the summer fields of New York, no joy now, no more

fear --and were you prepared?

To go where?In that Dark--in that God? a radiance? A Lord in the

Void?Like an eye in the black cloud in a dream? Adonoi at last, with you?

Beyond my remembrance! Incapable to guess!

I'm Heavenless, headless in blisshood I would still adore

Thee, Heaven, after Death, only One blessed in Nothingness, not

light or darkness, Dayless Eternity--

Take this, this Psalm, from me, burst from my hand in a day, some

of my Time, now given to Nothing--to praise Thee--But Death

This is the end, the redemption from Wilderness, way for the Won-derer.

FULL VERSION



APPENDIX 3 ONE BLUE SKY ABOVE US

MY RAINBOW RACE

Chorus:

One blue sky above us

One ocean lapping all our shore

One earth so green and round

Who could ask for more

And because I love you

I'll give it one more try

To show my rainbow race

It's too soon to die.

Some folks want to be like an ostrich,

Bury their heads in the sand.

Some hope that plastic dreams

Can unclench all those greedy hands.

1. Some hope to take the easy way:

Poisons, bombs. They think we need 'em.

Don't you know you can't kill all the unbelievers?

There's no shortcut to freedom.

(Repeat chorus)

2. Go tell, go tell all the little children.

Tell all the mothers and fathers too.

Now's our last chance to learn to share

What's been given to me and you.

(Repeat chorus one and a half times)

Words and Music by Pete Seeger (1967)

7 Spiritual Consciousness Service November 2009

Things to bring:

- notebook computer!!! + external speakers

- ALL Renewal cds

- 2 tallits

- siddurs

- percussion

- candle matches

- oil fan burner plus oil

Object is to maintain spiritual consciousness/awareness throughout the 2 hrs:

• 3 cooper chants in row

o cooper track 1: modah ani, ................
................

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